Electronic devices, such as wireless communication devices, have, in recent years, undergone significant reductions in size and, thus, have become easier to transport and use in a variety of environments. One such device is a radiotelephone having a user interface comprising a display, conventional telephone keys (0-9, *, #), and conventional function keys (RCL, STO, PWR, CLR, SND, END, FCN), all of which are mounted to a substrate, such as a circuit board, disposed in the radiotelephone and accessible via a front surface of the radiotelephone. To operate the radiotelephone, a user must typically use two hands--one hand to hold the device and the other hand to actuate the keys. To facilitate one-handed operation of frequently used features of the radiotelephone, it is known to mount a button arrangement next to the display so that it is accessible via a side surface of the radiotelephone. The button arrangement is a switch assembly that is actuated by the index finger or thumb of the hand holding the device. Examples of such a switch assembly is shown and described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/950,955 by Emmert, entitled "Switch Assembly Including Rocker Switch With Integrated Center Selector Switch," filed Oct. 15, 1997, and assigned to Motorola, Inc.
During operation of the radiotelephone, a user retrieves visual information from the display. Such information may include, but is not limited to, electronic phone book entries, caller identification information, e-mail messages, short messaging information, and Internet website information. To adequately support viewing of such information, particularly that employing multiple lines of text, it is desirable to maximize the area of the display. However, in miniaturized, low profile radiotelephones where the switch assembly is soldered on the circuit board next to the display and occupies circuit board surface area, display size cannot be maximized.
Thus, what is needed is a switch assembly that minimizes use of circuit board surface area without adding increased complexity during assembly.